National Lawyers Guild - Electoral Delegationhttp://www.nlg.org/taxonomy/term/397
enThe NLG Urges U.S. to Respect Venezuelan Sovereigntyhttp://www.nlg.org/news/announcements/nlg-urges-us-respect-venezuelan-sovereignty
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<div>The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) calls on Congress and the Secretary of State John Kerry to oppose U.S. intervention in the ongoing conflict in Venezuela, as a violent campaign brought by Venezuela’s extreme right-wing opposition seeks to topple the recently elected government. Certain opposition leaders have called these anti-government demonstrations “La Salida” (the Ousting), revealing their intention to violently and forcibly remove the democratically elected government. This was the same agenda put forth by the opposition prior to the municipal elections in December 2013, when opposition rhetoric attempted to turn democratic elections into a referendum to overthrow the government.</div>
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<div>For the last seven years, the NLG has observed Venezuelan elections – most recently, that of President Maduro in April 2013. NLG observers and other human rights groups (notably the Carter Center) found these elections to be free, fair, and exemplary of a democratic process. Despite this, the U.S. initially refused to recognize Maduro as the legitimately elected president of Venezuela. It wasn’t until receiving strong criticism from South American governments that Secretary Kerry backpedaled and quietly acknowledged the legitimacy of the election results.</div>
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<div>Citing the failed coup of 2002, NLG President Azadeh Shahshahani said, “ Considering previous attempts by the U.S. (and its allies) to violently overthrow a legitimately elected government raises concern that this is the case once more. The NLG opposes any U.S. interference in Venezuela’s internal affairs – including, but not limited to, such actions by the CIA, the International Republican Institute, and the National Democratic Institute.”</div>
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<div>The NLG urges Congress and Secretary Kerry to pledge that no U.S. funds will be used to support violent, anti-democratic agendas, such as the one in 2002. International law demands this under the UN Charter Principle of Sovereign Equality, Art. 2(2); and the Organization of America’s (OAS) Charter Principle, Art. 3(b). Furthermore, OAS Art. 18 prohibits indirect intervention in the internal affairs of another American state. The NLG urges the U.S. government to rightfully respect Venezuelan self-determination and sovereignty.</div>
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<div><em>Read the NLG's delegation on the April 14, 2013 presidential election and expanded May-June audit in Venezuela <a href="http://www.nlginternational.org/report/Venezuela_2013_NLG.pdf">here</a>. </em></div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/133" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Venezuela</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/397" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Electoral Delegation</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/67" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">election observing</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/371" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">International Committee</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/419" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Task Force on the Americas</a> </div>
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 05:00:00 +0000Tasha1062 at http://www.nlg.orghttp://www.nlg.org/news/announcements/nlg-urges-us-respect-venezuelan-sovereignty#commentsNational Lawyers Guild Observers Find Salvadoran Elections to be Free and Fairhttp://www.nlg.org/news/releases/national-lawyers-guild-observers-find-salvadoran-elections-be-free-and-fair
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<img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.nlg.org/sites/default/files/styles/full_node/public/SAM_3675.JPG?itok=rwaCv9Ov" width="400" height="300" alt="" /> </div>
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2014-02-05T15:15:00-05:00">February 5, 2014</span> </div>
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Judy Somberg </div>
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<a href="mailto:judy_somberg@igc.org">judy_somberg@igc.org</a> </div>
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617-497-5364 </div>
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New York </div>
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<p align="center"><strong>National Lawyers Guild Observers Find Salvadoran Elections to be Free and Fair</strong></p>
<p>Contact: Judy Somberg, <a href="mailto:judy_somberg@igc.org">judy_somberg@igc.org</a>, 617-497-5364</p>
<p>For interviews in Spanish: William Leavitt, <a href="mailto:WilliamLeavitt@hotmail.com">WilliamLeavitt@hotmail.com</a>, 212-897-5852</p>
<p>A group of five members of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) traveled to El Salvador as trained and accredited election observers to monitor the first round of the 2014 Presidential elections and to investigate the social and political context in which the elections took place. NLG delegates were impressed by how the electoral process was organized and by the widespread participation of the Salvadoran people. The delegates found that the recent electoral reforms supported by President Mauricio Funes, including the creation of residential voting centers and revisions to the electoral registry, facilitated a free and fair process that resulted in a transparent elections process.</p>
<p>Two NLG delegates who had also served as electoral observers in the November 2013 Honduras elections noted that unlike the elections there that were fraught with electoral irregularities, the elections in El Salvador were held without violence or intimidation. Attorney Judy Somberg, Chair of the NLG Task Force on the Americas, said: “The differences between the elections in Honduras and El Salvador are stark. In El Salvador people are no longer afraid to vote for the candidate of their choice.”</p>
<p>The NLG hopes that the United States will continue to actively affirm neutrality in elections as stated in a U.S. Embassy press release dated February 3, 2014, particularly given the history of U.S. interference in El Salvador.</p>
<p>FMLN candidate Salvador Sánchez Cerén received slightly less than 50% of the vote and the ARENA candidate, Norman Quijano, came in second with approximately 39% of the vote, necessitating a run-off election which will take place on March 9, 2014.</p>
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<span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="http://www.nlg.org/sites/default/files/NLG%20El%20Salvador%20Press%20Release.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=59274">NLG El Salvador Press Release.pdf</a></span> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/371" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">International Committee</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/432" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">El Salvador</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/397" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Electoral Delegation</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/67" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">election observing</a> </div>
Wed, 05 Feb 2014 20:21:52 +0000Abi1049 at http://www.nlg.orghttp://www.nlg.org/news/releases/national-lawyers-guild-observers-find-salvadoran-elections-be-free-and-fair#commentsNational Lawyers Guild Observers Question Validity of Honduran Electionshttp://www.nlg.org/news/releases/honduras-delegation-preliminary-results
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2013-11-26T11:00:00-05:00">November 26, 2013</span> </div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.46667em;">Contact: Tasha Moro, Communications Coordinator</span><br /><span style="line-height: 1.46667em;">212-679-5100, ext. 15 | <a href="mailto:communications@nlg.org">communications@nlg.org</a></span></p>
<div>The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) delegation of 17 credentialed international observers seriously question the validity of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal’s (TSE) preliminary results of Sunday’s national elections in Honduras.</div>
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<div>The NLG takes issue with the United States government’s characterization of the electoral process as transparent, given the country's recent and pervasive human rights violations: “U.S. government officials should refrain from assessing the validity of the election at this early stage and instead insist on protecting the rights of Honduran civil society,” NLG President Azadeh Shahshahani stated. The U.S. has been widely criticized for its early and nearly unilateral endorsement of the 2009 post-coup election, which took place during a period of brutal repression reminiscent of the violence of the 1980s. </div>
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<div>NLG observers expressed alarm about consolidation of power over the electoral process by the National Party, which has controlled the judiciary, the military, and the Congress since the 2009 military coup. Militarization of the electoral process included soldiers patrolling each polling center and allegedly transporting ballots.</div>
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<div>Additional irregularities were observed throughout the country, including allegations that smaller parties’ credentials were sold to National Party supporters for a seat at the voting tables (a TSE official has verified this). This threatens the integrity of the election process as individuals staffing the voting tables were in charge of counting ballots at the end of the day. There were also reports of the distribution of gratuities to National Party supporters. The NLG also documented inconsistencies with voter rolls and vote tabulations. </div>
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<div>Two opposition parties, LIBRE and PAC, have called into question the transmission of vote counts to the electoral tribunal. They claim a substantial discrepancy between the numbers reported to the TSE and those reported to their parties. </div>
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<div>The NLG noted a strong will and enthusiasm among Hondurans to participate in the electoral process despite a pervasive climate of fear and intimidation surrounding opposition party members and observers. Over the weekend, two LIBRE party activists were murdered, while two other deaths and three injuries were reported near a voting center in the Moskitia region. In addition, international observers reported multiple incidents of intimidation by state actors in the days leading up to the elections.</div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/396" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Honduras</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/371" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">International Committee</a> </div>
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<a href="/taxonomy/term/397" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Electoral Delegation</a> </div>
Tue, 26 Nov 2013 16:40:16 +0000Tasha1009 at http://www.nlg.orghttp://www.nlg.org/news/releases/honduras-delegation-preliminary-results#comments